The ship was just a few days away from Lang Pao and making good time. The captain stood at the helm of the ship, confident that his crew was making short work of the various cleaning and maintenance jobs he had assigned earlier that morning. It was convenient to have a co-captain on board, if only just to take over while the captain was drilling the troops, but Jonas wouldn't trade anything in the world for steering the massive, powerful machine through the open seas. Ernest, the co-captain was sound asleep in his bunk, grateful for the day off.
Jonas noticed, absent-mindedly, that a dense, compacted fog was beginning to roll in over the ship. It was nothing. He had seen far worse without a storm ever breaking through. Despite his confidence, however, he turned on his little radio when he saw grey clouds condensing overhead.
"…..reports that Hurricane Leila is gaining strength over the Pacific Ocean near Korea. Heavy winds and much rainfall should be expected in those areas beginning at around 6:20 p.m. and possibly blowing into the coast of Korea's seaports at around 9:00 a.m. tomorrow morning. Structural damages should be expected. This station will keep you up to date with new reports on Hurricane Leila ten minutes after every hour."
Jonas turned the radio off. He looked up at the sky, spotting a flash of lightning in the darkening clouds. He fished through a sea of appliances and navigational tools on his desk and found his walkie-talkie. Adjusting it to the right station, he called his co-captain. "Ernie, sorry about this, but you'd better get up here. It looks like we may be in for a heck of a storm. Over."
"Copy that. I'm coming. Over."
"Maybe we can steer around this thing," the captain said to himself, staring into the darkness in front of the ship.
--
At 6:00 p.m., it was evident that there was no way to get around the storm. The deck was already covered with an inch of rainfall. All the crewmen were below in their bunks or on duty because above deck the wind was blowing so hard in so many directions that you couldn't see your hand in front of your face.
Gilligan was grateful to be off duty. He was also grateful that his bunkmate Corey was on duty. He had lit a small red candle and set it on the desk next to his bed. He quietly stared at a picture of his girl back home: Herman the turtle. If only he could be back home with her and his mother's cooking.
The rocking rhythm of the ship soon lulled him into slumber.
--
In his dreams, Gilligan was running through a tranquil forest. Sure, the trees were peppermint-striped and the rocks were bubble-gum shaped, but in Gilligan's mind, this was a very peaceful, normal forest. Soon after he started running, the hard ground turned marshy. Then, he was darting to avoid puddles that seemed to anticipate where his foot would land.
Before he could turn around and go back the other way, the entire ground had turned to water, and his momentum sent him skidding across the ground like it was an iced-over pond. The trees were now businessmen in suits, who kept saying, "THUD. THUD. THUD." The bubble gum rocks had turned into jagged stones that oozed black slime. Then the forest abruptly ended at a cliff, which Gilligan tumbled over headfirst.
--
When Gilligan woke up, he had his face planted half in a pile of Corey's laundry and half in the floor. His legs were still sprawled out over the bed, his stomach precariously hovering above the candle. And…..his face was wet. And the floor was wet. And his bed was wet. And the water was rising. And his belongings were floating around in it. And he could have drowned!
"And I've gotta get out of here!" Gilligan said out loud. He lowered the rest of his body to the floor, watching carefully for the candle, grabbed his raincoat that had remained dry in the desk drawer, stood up quickly and slammed his head into a cross-beam.
Back into the water he fell, his upper body luckily propping itself against the bed. With his head lolled back on the comfortingly soft structure, Gilligan this time dreamt about stars.
--
NoV: There's chapter two! Feedback!